Hard headed woman
by Lothiriel84
Summary: The life and deeds of Teresa Lisbon - past, present and future. A companion piece to my "Shine on you crazy diamond". - Title from the namesake song by Cat Stevens.
1. Eldest sister

**Eldest sister**

Sometimes she can't help imagining that her mother will step inside that door and everything will fall back to normality.

Yet she knows that this is not going to happen. Her mother's dead – they'll never see her again.

So she rummages through the fridge with the forlorn hope to find something for dinner. Her brothers are always so hungry when they come back from their football game.

The fridge is empty though. So she grabs the phone and orders four pizzas – she knows which are her brother's favorites, there's no need to ask them once again.

(Her father is not going to eat anything tonight. He went upstairs earlier and locked his bedroom's door. That's a bad sign – especially given the fact that he was carrying a suspicious-looking paper bag. She just stared at him without uttering a single word – silently praying that she won't have to make another trip to the hospital by tomorrow morning.)

When she hears the front door opening she does her best to gather something close enough to a smile.

She has to be strong – for her brothers' sake.


	2. Cop

**Cop**

She absolutely loves her job. Being a cop is just a dream come true.

Seriously, you get paid to catch the bad guys – and you're allowed to carry a gun. What else could you wish for?

She has a thing for protecting people. It started with her brothers – though she really doesn't want to think about _that_ – and now it's only natural for her to try and save anybody out there.

(It's sad that they can't actually _save_ most of people – especially since the aforementioned people are already dead when they get called. However, they do her best to bring murderers to justice – so that the grieving families can have some sort of closure. And hopefully the criminals won't hurt anyone else once they're sentenced to jail – or to even worse punishment.)

She likes her colleagues too. Especially Sam – he's her mentor, to say the least.

Sam has taught her why rules are so important, and how you have to bend them sometimes – the end justifies the means when there are lives at stake.

(She's not willing to admit that her feelings for Sam run deeper than that. She just can't – Sam is a married man, and she'd never do anything… inappropriate. It would ruin both of their careers, and she can't have that.)

The first time her boss compliments her she blushes crimson and is equally pleased and embarrassed at the same time.

The quiet determination she possesses will allow her to go far someday – she's almost sure of that.


	3. Boss

**Boss**

She despises people who think that leadership can only be based on fear.

Since they promoted her as the leader of the Serious Crime Unit she's done her best to show that authority founds itself more on respect and esteem than on anything else.

The member of her team trust her and never question her decisions.

(Well, apart from a certain blonde consultant who seems to be the current golden boy of the CBI. She doesn't even bother to be upset about that anymore – though she makes sure she scares the living daylight out of him whenever he crosses one the lines she has carefully drawn for him.)

She trusts her team members as well.

Cho is so solid and dependable – and they'd probably be lost without his interrogation skills. It'd be hard to count how many suspects just gave way under the crossfire of his pressing questions and his poker face.

Rigsby's experience as an arson specialist turned out to be very useful on more than one case. And he's really a good cop – despite the appearance of a clumsy big puppy that can fool those who don't know him well.

Van Pelt on the other hand – well, she's so very young and enthusiastic. She was on cloud nine the other day – when she got to work more on the field as she requested. A very promising rookie, and her computer skills are quite irreplaceable.

(Lisbon would rather not acknowledge the fact that Rigsby and Van Pelt are dragged to each other like flies to honey. It's against the rules, and she just hopes she won't have to do something about _that_.)

She actually _doesn't_ trust Jane – not completely anyway – but he's simply the exception that proves the rule.

Surprisingly enough, Jane seems to trust her nonetheless. Given his traumatizing past, it's almost a wonder that he can still feel something of the kind.

She's not sure whether she should be flattered or simply worried about that.


	4. Jane sitter

**Jane-sitter**

Damn, damn, damn. She's an agent, not a babysitter.

(No, wait a minute. A babysitter would flee so very far away from Jane – no matter how obnoxious are the kids she usually looks after. She's not even sure that a dog-sitter would be willing to put up with such an annoying man. Maybe it would be a good idea to buy a collar and a leash and use them on Jane anyway.)

How is that in all these years she hasn't managed to knock some sense into that thick skull of his?

And she's the one who has the liability for his actions. That's simply ironic.

She'd really like to shoot him sometimes. It would make her feel so much better…

The most infuriating thing is that he always finds a way to melt away her righteous anger.

Sometimes he just gives her one of his dazzling smiles and offers some candid explanation – like the fact that his trick finally allowed them to close the case, or something like that.

Other times he comes out with unexpected gifts. An origami frog – she still keeps it hidden in the bottom drawer of her nightstand, though she really can't understand why she's not able to throw the damn thing away – an emerald necklace, even a living pony.

She hates it when he does such things – yet she finds it absolutely endearing at the same time.

Maybe that's exactly why she's still willing to put up with his crazy stunts. Even if that is going to cost her the job one day.

Another reason is that she can see the broken man behind his cheerful mask. So she sticks with him, hoping that in time she might be able to fix some of the shards of his damaged soul.

That he can heal and be whole again.

Someday.


	5. Mender

**Mender**

Patrick is definitely David's hero. He's the one who enchants their son with his magic tricks and his wondrous stories.

Daisy the elephant is by far David's most favorite character right now. He can listen to his daddy talking about her for hours – especially the part where mommy makes friend with the elephant, and Daisy lifts her from the ground as a sign of affection.

(She just hopes that he's not going to ask for a pet elephant in a few months. She really does. Especially since the kid has his father wrapped around his little finger, and arguing with the two of them would be like fighting a losing battle.)

However – no matter how much he idolizes daddy – there's just one thing David always turns to her for. Namely healing his wounds.

Even the smallest of scratches seems to require her attention. So she's always ready to dispense Band-Aids and reassuring smiles – until she finally kisses it better and her son trots away merrily.

Patrick once told her that she must possess a mysterious mending power or something of the kind.

Judging from how happy and relaxed her husband looks whenever he's with her – well, maybe he could even be right about that.

Her stubbornness has been rewarded in the long run.


End file.
